Warriors fizzle against Bucks without David Lee

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, November 14, 2010

Milwaukee Bucks' Andrew Bogut, right, blocks the shot by Golden State Warriors' Reggie Williams(55) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov, 30, 2010, in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Bucks' Andrew Bogut, right, blocks the shot by Golden State Warriors' Reggie Williams(55) in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov, 30, 2010, in Milwaukee.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps, AP

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Milwaukee Bucks' John Salmons(15) puts up a shot against Golden State Warriors' Vladimir Radmanovic, right, in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov, 30, 2010, in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Bucks' John Salmons(15) puts up a shot against Golden State Warriors' Vladimir Radmanovic, right, in the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov, 30, 2010, in Milwaukee.

Photo: Jeffrey Phelps, AP

Warriors fizzle against Bucks without David Lee

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Coach Keith Smart ended his postgame news conference Wednesday in New York by pulling a Warriors banner from the wall and joking that he was "taking his toys and going home."

Maybe he should have. Or at least sent his team back to Oakland.

The final two games of the Warriors' road trip were largely a waste of time, including Saturday's 79-72 loss to Milwaukee, spoiling a roadie that started with promise.

"I'm not too happy with it," guard Monta Ellis said. "We've just got to go back home, protect that house and get back on the winning side.

"We finished with some sad games, but we're going to move on from it."

Two days after a 30-point loss at Chicago, the Warriors on Saturday had their PR man scrambling to contact Elias Sports Bureau. The conversation was about futility.

The Warriors scored 30 first-half points, their lowest output since they scored 29 at Memphis in 2007. The franchise low is 25, which looked like a possibility before Ellis put on a one-man show in the half's final 1:03.

Ellis finished with 24 points, five rebounds, eight assists and three steals. The rest of his team would probably rather you not read their stats.

The Bucks packed the middle, getting a career-high seven blocks from Andrew Bogut, and forcing the Warriors to shoot jumpers. Guys not named Ellis connected on 28.8 percent from the floor, shooting the Warriors into an 18-point hole.

Stephen Curry had seven points on 3-of-14 shooting, and Dorell Wright went 2-for-14 for seven points. Andris Biedrins went scoreless and missed nearly 14 minutes while getting a concussion test.

In fairness, the Warriors were without power forward David Lee, who was released from a Fremont hospital Saturday morning after surgery to clean out an infection from his left elbow. The Warriors said they won't update his status until "the latter part" of this week, but he is expected to miss two weeks.

"Our margin for error is so small that when one of our guys isn't there, we're really going to struggle to get a W," Smart said.

Asked whether Lee would have made a difference, Wright said, "Is that a trick question? David Lee was an All-Star last year. He's a 20-10 guy. He's worth $80 million ... That's one of the key players to everything we're doing. His presence is definitely missed, especially his toughness."

Most of the toughness the Warriors showed came from reserves Reggie Williams and Jeff Adrien, who scored seven straight points to trim the deficit to 75-72 with 1:31 remaining. After a John Salmons jumper, the Warriors had a chance to cut it to two points, but Vladimir Radmanovic's three-point attempt was deflected by Bogut.

The Bucks did their best to let the Warriors back in it, shooting 33.7 percent from the floor despite point-blank looks most of the night. They also handed the Warriors 20 turnovers.

But nothing could keep the Warriors from heading home with a 2-3 road trip.

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